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Notorious ticket scammer, back in jail, blames gambling addiction for life of fraud

”Ever since I was a teenager I’ve been called a compulsive liar. I’d be a good car salesman,” Shaun Nixon says.

Back when he was a student at Mohawk College in 2002, Shaun Nixon took a quiz called "Know the Score," about responsible gambling. Today Nixon blames his repeated incarcerations on his gambling addiction.
(Ron Pozzer)

Back in an orange jumper, back behind the now familiar bars of a provincial jail cell, serial fraudster Shaun Nixon — among Ontario’s most notorious online scammers — claims he feels guilty about the hundreds, possibly thousands, of people he’s ripped off through his notorious Craigslist and Kijiji scams, and swears he’ll never do it again.

But even Nixon admits it’s hard to take him at his word.

“Ever since I was a teenager I’ve been called a compulsive liar,” Nixon said in an interview at the Maplehurst Correctional Complex Wednesday, where he is serving his fourth sentence for the scheme since 2007.

The 34-year-old with a shaved head and rotten-teeth smile has scammed countless excited concert-goers and sports fans by selling fake tickets through online ticket selling sites.

In his con, which he’s been using for nearly a decade, buyers send money for hot-ticket items, such as Justin Bieber or Leafs tickets, but then never hear from Nixon again.

“I was shocked — I didn’t think anyone would be crazy enough to do that,” Nixon said of the rush he got after successfully conning his first victim.

“I got carried away. . . . It spiralled from there,” he said.

Nixon was handed a two-year sentence July 3, after pleading guilty to a slew of charges, including defrauding the public and breach of probation. Following his arrest in March 2014, Peel police alleged each transaction ranged from $500 to $2,000.

Nixon has also served time for the scheme in 2007, 2011 and 2012.

Nixon, a Hamilton native, said in the interview that he usually just copies and pastes the same text into ads: a write-up stating that he and his wife bought the tickets but now can’t attend. He will sometimes change details, such as where he claims to be living.

“He doesn’t seem to have any problem lying to people on a consistent basis — just complete, bold-face lies,” said Det. Alan Spratt, with the Toronto Police financial crimes unit, who was an investigator on a past case against Nixon.

One of Nixon’s victims, Ken Rousselle, previously told the Star that he lost $250 on what he thought were One Direction tickets that he wanted for his daughter. Rousselle says he spoke to Nixon, who he believed was Frank Turner, on the phone, and was taken in by his story.

“He told me his daughters couldn’t make it and was happy to hear how another father would do this for (his) children,” Rousselle said.

Another victim told the Star Nixon had “a great voice” and sounded like someone she could trust.

“I’ve always been like that — suave, good with my words,” Nixon said in the interview.

But Nixon said the reason he keeps using the con is the “desperation” caused by a gambling addiction, which he says dates back to his first visit to Casino Rama in 2004.

“I don’t enjoy what I do, but I do it because I have a gambling problem,” Nixon said.

He claims he is going to pursue help for the addiction so that he can stop the cycle of re-offending. Nixon said he is being transferred to another institution in order to receive counselling, though a spokesperson for the province’s Ministry of Corrections said he could not confirm Nixon’s transfer for security reasons.

Dr. Jeffrey Derevensky, professor of psychiatry at McGill University and a gambling expert, said many people who are addicted to gambling do “whatever it takes” in order to get the funds to keep gambling.

“Obviously this individual is creative, but not creative enough not to get caught, in order to keep fuelling his need to go back to the casino,” Derevensky said.

Nixon said he apologizes to his victims, saying “this isn’t the way I want to be.”

“I Google myself and I see what people are saying about me,” he said. “Scam, scam, scam.”

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